Of Love and Of Paine
by FroilanBard
Summary: Yuna and Paine bond amidst their adventures.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters.

"Yuna!"

Yuna's train of thought was interrupted by the arrival of Paine whose shadow loomed over her. It was a sunny day on Besaid Island, as it always is, as it always should be. This was how she liked it best. The warm wind breezing through the island brought with it the smell of the ocean, of calmness and of him.

To her, the thought of the ocean always produced butterflies in her stomach. She let her mind wander. It never fails to bring her to Tidus.

And it was on this very spot by the docks that they embarked on their adventure together to defeat Sin two years ago. The adventure that led her to open her eyes to her naivete and changed her life for the good. But most importantly, it was the adventure of her life that led her to believe in herself… and taught her how to love.

Love, most of all. He was there by her side. He was always there every step of the way.

_Yuna!_ She imagined him running to her like how he always did two years ago—a grin always on his face.

She closed her eyes and immersed herself in her memories ignoring the reality that had become imbued with uncertainty and various feelings of peril. She escaped in her memories; a brief respite from all of the chaos and confusion that has now replaced Sin in its place.

"Yuna?" Paine whispered softly, trying her best not to intrude too much although her voice was laced with concern.

Yuna's expression was tinged with that form of calmness that was associated with sadness. The crimson-eyed warrior only knew too well who could possibly be on her mind.

_Tidus_. Before she could stop herself, she found her mind wandering over to the young man that she had seen on the sphere. Or was he? They were almost so sure yet she couldn't let go of the feeling that the person they had believed to be Tidus was not who they thought he was. Who was Lenne anyway?

But as far as Paine was concerned, she was the young man who had Yuna head over heels in love—being the very reason that led her to join the Gullwings in the first place.

_What was it in him that Yuna found? _She thought, her mind going over to the image in the sphere. He seemed to be too aggressive to have landed himself in hot water, if the sphere was anything to go by about the young man's personality.

She felt a pang of pain shoot through her chest. She did her best to stop herself but without waiting for Yuna's consent, she sat down by her side to offer the warmth of human companionship... or what she knew of it.

She knew that this was the least that she could do for her. Offer her the opportunity to lean on someone. Someone who was willing to share a piece of their mind without the need to talk. Although, she knew there was no doubt that the ex-High Summoner was strong, she felt the need to stand by her. After all, that's what friends are for, right?

_Friends._

Another bout of pain started to throb in her chest.

_If this is what it takes to be by her side_. She thought ignoring the pain that seemed to have taken residence in her heart these past few days.

And so she just sat there by her side on the docks. In silence, they both let their minds wander; welcoming a form of reprieve from all of the crazy adventures they had been through so far. All of the threads that had been laid out in front of them seemed to lead them to nowhere.

A minute or so had passed and Yuna opened her eyes and found Paine sitting by her side, with her elbow resting lazily on her leg, she was looking out into the ocean—deep in thought. Her face bore no expression—just a kind of calmness that she had grown accustomed to on the usually aloof warrior.

"Hey!" she started. Feeling almost coy and guilty from the fact that she did not even notice her presence.

"Oh, hey there! You're looking glum," she replied, grinning.

"How long have you been here?" she joked awkwardly. It wasn't what the warrior was used to doing.

"Umm," Yuna blushed. She really did not know how to humour her. Like Lulu, she found it hard to gaze directly into her eyes—the blood red irises drilling a hole through her.

"So, this is where you grew up?" she started, unwilling to let the silence eat away the opportunity for conversation.

"Yes," she replied softly, her eyes fixed on the clear water between the gaps of the wooden floor.

"It's a nice place. I really like it here."

"You do?" Her response sounded more surprised than she intended. Besaid Island was the epitome of calmness. She did not expect her to like the idea of such.

Paine stole a glance at the surprised gunner. She replied, "Well, you know, it smells nice. The food is delicious."

With this Yuna let out a sigh. Somehow she expected more of a response from her companion.

"Besides," she paused.

"The women here are not half bad."

As if it was some form of a reflex action, Yuna pushed her off the docks into the lukewarm water as she felt a sudden rush of blood to her face. Even surprising herself at such a reaction.

She only let out a stifled, 'oomph!'

Just as she was about to apologise profusely for pushing a person she barely knew, she felt a damp grip on her legs that pulled her into the water.

Not a moment later, she found herself instilled with laughter as she pushed a wall of water towards her direction. She felt obliged to play along.

"Heeey! Take that, you! That was totally uncalled for, Yuna," seriousness bore in all of Paine's features but just as Yuna had calmed down she shrieked at the sudden splash of water across her face. She did not waste a second to retaliate and immediately splashed a big one at Paine who managed to duck it by submerging herself.

Holding her breath, she moved towards the gunner's body underwater and tried to scare her by suddenly surfacing. However, due to some form of miscalculation on her part, she ended up emerging right in front of the ex-High Summoner. Their faces merely inches apart.

Yuna could not help but blush at the proximity of their faces. She could feel her breath over her own. Looking down at her lips, as to avoid the gaze she was reluctant to meet, she succumbed to her body's carnal needs to feel the tenderness of human contact. She closed her eyes, momentarily ignoring the palpitations of her beating heart and gave in to the emotion that was overwhelming her body. Unfamiliar feelings of anxiety surfaced within her chest. What were these emotions? She could not certainly fathom. It was not love. She knew very well what love was like. It certainly was not this foray of foreign emotions. And definitely not with a woman. Or so she thought. But she liked it, nonetheless.

Paine, on the other hand, seemed to be just as confused. Although she was wary of Yuna's feelings for another young man, she wanted to garner some, if any, reaction from the ex-High Summoner.

She wanted to submit herself to her lips. But she did not want to end up hurting herself over a friend she had become captivated with. Yuna was different. Not because she was revered as some sort of a celebrity in this world, but merely because of the fact that she was… different. She was not brash, she had a good heart, she was… sensitive and gentle and warm… and all of the good things that Paine's life was mostly devoid of.

But, alas, she was overwhelmed by her feelings. Everything in Paine's surroundings went to a sudden stop. She felt a vast shiver up her spine as she inched her lips closer to hers. Her heart overwhelmed with tremendous affection for the pretty brunette in front of her.

She shifted her gaze towards her closed eyes. Those blue and green eyes that she seemed so fascinated with—the fact that the best of two worlds existed within the being that was Yuna made it all the more hard to resist.

Gripped by a sudden wave of emotions, she pulled her closer to her body and put her lips over hers. She did not feel her squirm in her embrace. Was she enjoying it, too?

_Yuna. _Was all she could think of.

She lingered over her lips—aware of the consequences if she were to go on. She did not really want to alarm her or scare her off. She was one of the very few, if not, the only one who made Paine grateful to be alive at that very moment.

_Yuna!_ The brunette heard an all too familiar voice in her head. The voice carried a trace of jealousy. She opened her eyes and quickly felt a pang of guilt making its way throughout her body. She shivered at the intensity of the emotions that her body was unaccustomed to. She saw an image of Tidus in her head and quickly pulled away from Paine's embrace.

In an instant, she almost felt disappointed at their sudden parting. But the feeling diminished just as quickly as it came that she had forgotten that it was there in the first place.

Sure, she was a nice person, feisty and maybe aggressive at times. But she had also noticed that the silver haired warrior made sure to go out of her own way to ensure that she was okay. There was something about her, too, that made her quite interested in this shady character.

It didn't seem to help at all that she seemed to be always by her side when Tidus was not.

_Where are you?_ She thought.

"Yuna?" Paine's voice brought her back to Spira. From all of the emotions that she had encountered, this was the most foreign to her.

"I—I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" trailing off, she stepped back from her—now all too aware of the crime she had just committed.

_Hmm. Now loving someone has also become a crime? Good on you Paine for making yourself a convict…_

Yuna stood still in the water—her head still reeling from the thoughts of confusion and the need to reunite with Tidus; her heart reeling from the outburst of emotion that she did not expect from the kiss that she shared with a woman... and friend.

She put her fingers on her lips, from where Paine's were a moment ago. She didn't know how … or what to feel.

Her system, confused from the pouring of all kinds of emotions, decided to shut down to avoid the epic confrontation that was certainly imminent between reason and feelings.


End file.
